World Nuclear Association Blog

The "This Week in Nuclear" has looked at the issue of 'is nuclear renewable.' It is a well thought out piece that suggests that even if the term 'renewable' isn't right, uranium can be thought to be 'inexhaustible'. WNA has also discussed the matter, both here and here.

The New Scientist magazine has turned its attention to the debate that is starting at the Bonn climate change meeting on what form the Kyoto Mechanisms should take post-2012, including the role of nuclear energy.

Their article reports that including nuclear in the CDM and JI would make nuclear projects eligible for funding from these scheme, though of course nuclear projects would only get the same benefit per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions avoided as any other CDM or JI project.

The New Scientist gets the facts about the CDM and JI a bit wrong. The article talks about the two schemes helping poorer countries, but JI projects are those that take place in developed countries with emissions targets. The CDM does apply to the poorest of countries, but it also applies to major economies such as  China  and  India , where large increases in nuclear generation are already planned.

Another example of Twitter being used for more serious purposes, the team behind Earth Negotiations Bulletin is tweeting on http://twitter.com/enbclimate. Already some useful updates on the latest UNFCCC meeting in Bonn have been provided. For many years ENB has been a very resource for those following the UN climate change negotiations.

At the Bonn meeting negotiators are getting their first chance to discuss negotiating texts intended to form the basis of a new agreement to be reached in Copenhagen in December. Those discussions will include the future role of nuclear energy in Kyoto Mechanisms.

Remember, WNN is tweeting on http://twitter.com/W_Nuclear_News.